What are Malaysia's chances of successfully appealing against FIFA?

FAM took the case to CAS after failing in two previous hearings before the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (FDC) and FIFA Appeal Committee (FAC) regarding seven naturalized players who allegedly used falsified documents to represent Malaysia at the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. The players were banned from football activities for 12 months, while FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (US$435,000).

Sports lawyer Nik Erman Nik Roseli stated that FAM's ability to win at CAS depends on providing new, specific evidence. This is a high bar, as FIFA has reportedly found the original birth certificates of the players' grandparents showing they were not in Malaysia.

FAM had provided versions of birth certificates that list the birthplaces in Malaysia, a decisive factor for the players to get naturalized based on bloodline.

"Although FAM has consistently blamed the National Registration Department (NRD) for issuing the 'new' certificates, it remains the association's responsibility to ensure that players are qualified to represent the national team," Nik Erman, who has over 20 years of experience in sports and commercial law, told New Straits Times. "If FAM denies the existence of the 'original' certificates, it must produce evidence to show that those documents are either incorrect or do not belong to the players' grandparents."

Sports lawyer Nik Erman Nik Roseli. Photo by Facebook/Nik Erman Nik Roseli

The lawyer believes the chances of Malaysia reversing the situation are "little". Like him, many experts, former players and fans have suggested that FAM should stop appealing to avoid wasting time and money.

However, FAM has affirmed it will pursue the case to the end, citing the need to protect the players' rights and the country's stand.

FAM is in a dilemma: if they don't appeal, it means they have admitted the documents were falsified. But Nik Erman believes the association should not ignore public opinion, as the CAS proceedings alone could cost hundreds of thousands of Malaysian ringgit. (100,000 ringgit = US$24,000)

That financial pressure was somewhat reduced when Tunku Ismail Idris, the Regent and Crown Prince of Johor, announced he would cover all costs for FAM's appeal to CAS.

FAM has 10 days from the decision on Nov. 3 to request a detailed appeal report from FAC. They then have 21 days to submit an appeal to CAS. The court requires both the plaintiff (FAM) and defendant (FIFA) to agree to proceed. FIFA then has 20 days to submit a response.

Football is the king of sports at CAS, accounting for 82% of its cases in 2023 and 72% in 2024, most of which are appeals, with FIFA as a regular customer.

Rodrigo Holgado (number 19), Joao Figueireido (14) and Hector Hevel (13), three of the seven Malaysia players suspended by FIFA, play in the 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia on June 10, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Tu

In 2024, 326 of the 476 football appeals to CAS involved FIFA. These were divided into three categories: cases where the federation was called as a party (117), cases where the federation was not involved (183), and cases where the federation requested exclusion (26). Most decisions involved contract disputes between clubs, players and agents, in which FIFA only acted as the decision maker and was not required to be present.

CAS decisions are also divided into four categories: the nature of the case (right or wrong), costs (during the legal process), contract termination orders (agreement or legal relationship), and consent (voluntary agreement by the parties involved). The case of FAM and FIFA falls under the nature category, addressing the core evidence and legal reasoning.

As a defendant, FIFA received 78 verdicts in the nature category from CAS in 2024. Of which, 58 verdicts (74%) upheld FIFA’s sanction, rejecting the plaintiff's appeal. Only 15 judgments (19%) annulled the sanction or referred it back to FIFA. The 74% win rate is considered FIFA’s lowest in the 2020-2024 period, where it previously ranged between 80-82%. The average number of plaintiffs who can overturn the situation against FIFA at CAS is only 12.8%.

CAS typically takes one to three weeks to appoint an arbitrator, one to three months for a hearing after the filing of documents is complete, and one to three months for a final verdict. This can be affected by the case's complexity, the evidence and the number of arbitrators (the fewer people the faster). If both parties agree to an expedited procedure, a case can be completed within 30-45 days.

According to the CAS annual report, the average processing time for a case was 6.2 months in 2019, 5.7 months in 2020, 5.5 in 2021, 5.9 in 2022, 5.4 in 2023 and 5.6 in 2024.

Statistics also show that FIFA has never had to withdraw sanctions against member associations whose national teams used ineligible players, in cases that are similar to Malaysia’s.

In 2012, the Gabonese Football Federation was sanctioned for using a beach football player who had played for Cameroon. In 2018, the Football Federation of Timor-Leste used nine illegally naturalized Brazilian players, leading to their disqualification from the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers and a ban from the 2023 qualifiers.

Most recently, in 2024, the Equatoguinean Football Federation was punished with 0-3 forfeit defeats for using a player who has previously represented the Spain youth team. The player, Emilio Nsue Lopez, was suspended from football activities for six months, while the federation was fined 150,000 Swiss francs.